Collect of the Day: Almighty
God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the
mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord; Give us grace so to follow your
blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those
ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through
Jesus Christ our Lord who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one
God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Reflections: The communion of
saints, that “cloud of witnesses,” reminds us that those who have gone before
us are not absent, but united with us in Christ. Each Eucharist we pray the Sanctus “with all the company of
heaven.” But this one day we make conscious, deliberate recognition of the
unity of past, present and future in the living, mystical body of Christ. What
a powerful reminder for those of us who still feeling the loss of people we
love—no matter how long it has been since their passing.
First Reading: Revelation
7:9-17
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that
no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with
palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing,
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Reflections: Revelations—that
puzzling book that has historically been interpreted in widely diverse (and
sometimes even bizarre) ways—holds some of the most beautiful, lyrical material
in the New Testament. Sometimes prose simply cannot bear the profundity of the
message, and the text breaks into poetry. Life is full mysterious, but however
chaotic or frightening we experience it to be, is not absurd. We do not suffer
alone; the whole communion of saints is with us; God is with us.
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
I will
bless the LORD at all times; * his praise shall ever be in my mouth.I will glory in the LORD; * let the humble hear and rejoice.
Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD; * let us exalt his Name together.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me * and delivered me out of all my terror.
Look upon him and be radiant, * and let not your faces be ashamed.
I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me * and saved me from all my troubles.
The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him, * and he will deliver them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good; * happy are they who trust in him!
Fear the LORD, you that are his saints, * for those who fear him lack nothing.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *but those who seek the LORD lack nothing that is good.
The LORD ransoms the life of his servants, * and none will be punished who trust in him.
Epistle: I John 3:1-3
See what love the Father
has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we
are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.
What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will
see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as
he is pure.
Reflections: These letters of John,
written in simple language, carry a profound message. The phrase “children of
God” is bandied about freely in Christian circles. But John tells us that it’s
not simply a nice idea; we are not merely “like” God’s children. We are God’s children. Even now. How can we possibly get our heads
around that?
But he says more. To be God’s children means
more than we can understand. The “now” has implications we cannot yet fathom because
we are not fully formed. There is much more to our lives than we can see or
understand now. Like acorns, we are designed
to grow into much more than we can presently imagine. Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and
after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and
taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you [falsely] on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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